Analytical Report n4 Analytical Report 4: Open Data in Cities 1 This study has been prepared by Capgemini Invent as part of the European Data Portal. The European Data Portal is an initiative of the European Commission, implemented with the support of a consortiumi led by Capgemini Invent, including Intrasoft International, Fraunhofer Fokus, con.terra, Sogeti, 52North, Time.Lex, the Lisbon Council, and the University of Southampton. The Publications Office of the European Union is responsible for contract management of the European Data Portal. For more information about this paper, please contact: European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology Unit G.1 Data Policy and Innovation Daniele Rizzi – Policy Officer Email: [email protected] European Data Portal Gianfranco Cecconi, European Data Portal Lead Email: [email protected] Written by: Wendy Carrara Wander Engbers Margriet Nieuwenhuis Eva van Steenbergen Last update: 15.07.2020 www: https://europeandataportal.eu/ @: [email protected] DISCLAIMER By the European Commission, Directorate-General of Communications Networks, Content and Technology. The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use, which may be made of the information contained therein. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 © European Union, 2020 OA-BF-20-004-EN-N ISBN: 978-92-78-41898-4 ISSN: 2600-0601 doi: 10.2830/992513 The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. i At the time this report was first issued the consortium consisted of: Capgemini Invent, Intrasoft International, Fraunhofer Fokus, con.terra, Sogeti, the Open Data Institute, Time.Lex, and the University of Southampton. Executive Summary pen Data is a valuable source for solving civic problems, improving transparency and closing the O gap between local government and its citizens. The World Council on City Data introduced 17 different themes including around 100 indicators relating to the standardisation of city data. Urban planning is one of those focus areas of high value to most cities, as cities are facing considerable population growth that puts pressure on the municipality’s economy. The huge amount of data that cities gather can help solve those problems more efficiently. Transportation and emergency situations are other topics directly related to high population density in cities. Users can highly benefits from the development of mobile applications helping citizens and first responders to plan their journey using alternative routes if necessary. Cities are starting to look at the benefits of Open Data. Numerous European, national and local projects have been completed in recent years. Open Data Day was first organised on 5 March 2010 and is now repeated every year on the same day. Other European funded projects focusing on the standardisation of city data and piloting those initiatives in European cities are e.g. Open Cities, CitySDK and the iCity project. On a national level, Finland is working on the 6Aika project that aims to connect and stimulate collaboration between six Finnish cities. There are many larger European cities that are not part of a specific project or network where Open Data initiatives are initiated by the municipality itself. The most tangible proof of an Open Data initiative is the development of a dedicated Open Data city portal. Here eight cities are assessed in more detail. The best practice cities that are assessed are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. They all have a municipality website and Open Data portal, but only Amsterdam, Barcelona, London and Vienna also have a specific Smart city website. The development of a city strategy or re-use guidelines is not common, but London is one of the cities that just launched its own Data for London strategy. The amount of data made available differs per city, in this case Transportation between 175 datasets in Paris and 935 datasets in Berlin. The most popular data domains are available for five of the eight among most cities with transportation being among the top data domains. Some city portals include the most downloaded dataset as popular data well, which is often related to transportation. Most of the cities are harvested by the national portal, but not all. domains in cities Different Open Data city initiatives and events are discussed in more detail. Going beyond Open Data, cities want to become smart. A smart city uses technology to enhance quality, performance and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption and to improve contact between citizens and government. Open Data can be combined with sensor data from streetlights or cars to increase energy efficiency and reduce travel time. The eight cities serve as inspiration for other cities what they could achieve by thinking big. However, cities are recommended to start small and take one step at a time on their Open Data Journey. 3 1. Introduction to city data ‘The EU stands out in engineering skills, a problem-solving approach and quality of life. Europe’s technology for cities will be the standard for sustainability in the rest of the world.’ - Commissioner Oettinger Cities and their citizens worldwide are discovering the power of Open Data, for example in understanding how it helps solving civic problems.1 The data made available creates an opportunity for citizens to comment on public sector decisions made or ask questions about spending behaviour, thereby improving transparency and stimulating democracy. However, public data is a bit more abstract and distant for an individual citizen to connect with compared to, for example, local spending data, public transport networks and housing issues. Citizens observe direct changes when Open Data is used in their living environment to improve (real-time) public transport information or improve air quality. Numerous initiatives emerge that connect different cities via a European or global network to stimulate standardisation and share best practices. The World Council on City Data is an example of a global organisation promoting the standardisation of city data and thereby creating smarter cities.2 The first international standard, ISO 37120, was published in May 2014, showing that the potential of Open Data for cities is recognised only recently. The standard includes 100 indicators that measure a city's social, economic and environmental performance. Those indicators are divided between 17 different themes that are shown in Table 1. Overview of city themes Economy Governance Telecommunication and innovation Education Health Transportation Energy Recreation Urban planning Environment Safety Wastewater Finance Shelter Water and sanitation Fire and emergency Solid waste response Table 1 – Different city data themes3 Urban planning is an important theme specifically related to the local government level. Cities are facing considerable population growth and density, increasing pressure on the current system with accompanying economic burdens and related budget cuts. Therefore, cities must find ways to boost their efficiency and reduce costs while ensuring a good quality of life for all citizens.4 The solution to this problem can be found in the massive amount of data that cities gather. If one only looks at urban planning, one can identify already all the related (municipal) services in deciding on the location of parks, maintaining lampposts, drawing up cycle paths, positioning parking spots, trees, building schools, construction sites, bridges, houses, speed cameras, etc. An example of the location of schools, bridges and tunnels in Vienna on a map is shown in Figure 1. 4 Figure 1 – Location of schools, bridges and tunnels in Vienna5 Transportation is another area many cities have to deal with. Populated areas face significantly more transportation related challenges compared to more rural areas. Those include congestion issues, higher risk of the occurrence of accidents, and air pollution.6 The growing population and higher travel demands are partly causing those negative effects. The release of data on transportation, air quality and on the location of traffic accidents enables the development of mobile applications that can help inhabitants to better plan their travel. Thereby, the city data theme on transportation is directly related to broader topics such as the environment and sustainability. Open Data can also play an important role in fire and emergency response situations. If citizens are at an emergency location one minute earlier to provide CPR after a warning built in a mobile application using Open Data, 7,000 lives a year can be saved by giving CPR earlier.7 With Open Data it is possible, for example, to calculate the likelihood of a fire taking place in a specific area. To make this calculation, data is needed about when and how buildings are constructed, the inhabitation, and the history of emergencies in the particular neighbourhood.8 Transportation data can guide the fire department as fast as possible to the emergency location. The data should include very detailed and building block specific information coming from the local authorities. One of the first European cities that started an Open Data initiative is London. In January 2010, Mayor Boris Johnson announced that London would be the first Open Data city in Britain and launched the London Data Store.